The Trip to Bountiful | Geraldine Page, John Heard | An American treasure... on an excellent DVD

The Trip to Bountiful | Geraldine Page, John Heard | THIS TRIP WILL NEVER END FOR ME...

DVDs:

The Trip to Bountiful

	The Trip to Bountiful Geraldine Page, John Heard FilmDallas Pictures; MGM (Video & DVD), 2005 average customer review:based on 67 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

An American treasure... on an excellent DVD

This wonderfully heart-warming movie is finally on DVD. Based on the 50 year old play by Horton Foote, it tells of an elderly woman's quest to return one last time to her childhood home. Knowing her life is coming to a close, she gets on a Greyhound bus heading for a town (Bountiful, Texas) that no longer exists. Chased by her weakling of a son (John Heard) and his shrewish wife (Carlin Glynn), accompanied along the way by a gentle and kindly young lady (the lovely Rebecca De Mornay), who acts almost like her guardian angel, and framed at beginning and end by Cynthia Clawson's rendition of the hymn "Softly and Tenderly", "Trip to Bountiful" is truly an American classic. Geraldine Page deservedly won an Academy Award for this at the end of a long and illustrious career.

MGM has released this on a double-sided DVD with the original 1.85:1 theatrical version (anamorphic) on one side and a fullscreen version (either open-matte or extracted from a super35) on the other. Picture quality is excellent with rich, natural colors and good black levels. There is very little dirt, the picture looks quite immaculate. Sound is the original 2.0 Mono but with excellent fidelity. My only disappointment is that this would have been the perfect opportunity to release a Special 20th Anniversary Edition. But I suppose MGM figured there would be no market for that. Shame. Still, we do have a 22 minute, brand new documentary entitled "Return to Bountiful" and the original theatrical trailer. All in all, no regrets buying this one. A true American treasure.

for more information click here

THIS TRIP WILL NEVER END FOR ME...

After reading many reviews here about "The Trip to Bountiful", I felt compelled to add my two cents worth about the film and its star, Geraldine Page. I own every single Geraldine Page movie ever released; she is my favorite actress of all time! And "The Trip To Bountiful" is my FAVORITE film of all time, as well. Why? Because when you watch this film, it's not like you're watching a movie at all, it's like you are experiencing the heartache of a lifetime, the dreams, the illusions, the sadness and the happiness,truth and also the lies that compose a lifetime. What Geraldine Page does with the main character, Carrie Watts, is nothing short of astonishing. She creates a living breathing woman who has yearned to go home for twenty years after having been cooped up in the city all this time. And her weak son, her loud, rude and hurtful daughter-in-law (Why Carlin Glynn didn't win Best Supporting Actress, or at least earn a nomination for this role is beyond me) and the beautiful, polite, sweet girl portrayed by Rebecca DeMornay...each of these important supporting roles contributes something substantial to the film...however, this is a Geraldine Page film all the way. Her mannerisms, the way she moves, speaks, sings, falls onto a sofa, or into the arms of a sheriff...ANYTHING she does is virtuoso, beyond the measure of good acting...it is sublime and perfect. This movie, so sentimental and charming, is also perfect. I have seen it about 50 times, and I cannot wait until it's out on DVD! I can't believe it's taken this long. But thank you, Powers That Be, for releasing this film on April 12th. I will cherish it always, and I suggest if you have never seen this movie, that you spend a few bucks and own one of the most wonderful movies and acting performances ever committed to celluloid.

for more information click here

What a Trip!

Let me just say that I agree with every single one of the 5 star ratings. I too have been waiting so long for this treasure to be released on DVD. Although I had seen Geraldine Page in a few movies here and there (scared me as a child in 'Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice'), this movie really opened my eyes to one of the greatest actresses of all time. I read 'flawless' in a number of the other reviews and that is truly how to discribe her performance in this film. Great supporting cast too. I grew up in a lot of different areas of the country and totally identified with Carrie Watts and her desire to return home. So glad to see this finally released on DVD (widescreen!).

for more information click here

A Brilliant Film FINALLY on DVD!!!

I just finished viewing The Trip To Bountiful on DVD. Finally. It took far too long for this American classic to reach DVD. I have seen the film many times before in the theatre and on VHS and I am still completely transfixed by it every time I see it. It is a remarkable achievement. Geraldine Page literally takes your breath away with her performance. John Heard as her son, Ludie, is mesmerizing. I believe that the film is a story about the longing each and every one of us have in our hearts for a better place, a safer place, a more secure place - a home remembered. There is something absolutely primal about the story as the viewer sits literally on the edge of their seat wanting so very much for Mrs. Watts to complete her journey. The film is beautifully and simply shot, the music is perfect and the performances amazing. The Trip to Bountiful has been one of my favorite films for 20 years now. I am so excited to own it now on DVD.

for more information click here

Long Overdue Gem with A Few Quibbles

It's easy to see by some of these older reviews that this is a long-awaited release. I've had the VHS for years and I was happy to see the DVD available, and at a cheap price. Unfortunately, that price also meant that I wasn't going to see the extras that I have now come to expect from all DVDs.

Geraldine Page won the Oscar for her role here, and she was up against Whoopi Goldberg's powerful performance in The Color Purple. They had it in for Spielberg, anyway, but at least you could say that Ms. Page's win was not a sympathy vote. She was brilliant as Carrie Watts. Fans of Bette Midler may recognize John Heard, who plays Carrie's impotent but sympathetic son as CeCe Bloom's husband in the film classic, "Beaches", which has also been re-released on DVD.

I think a word or two has to be said about the haunting theme song, "Softly and Tenderly", sung so beautifully by gospel legend Cynthia Clawson. It appears on her album "Immortal", which by now may be available on CD from her website. But every time I drive to Texas and see the bluebonnets by the side of the road, I think of Ms. Clawson's beautiful voice. My wish for this DVD would have been for them to explain, in the relatively short "making-of" documentary, the music choices and how this song and this singer came to be chosen. It was an excellent decision, however it came about.

The quality of the DVD was not quite up to standard in my opinion. It looks as if they just recorded it straight off the tape without any cleanup, colors seem dark and muddied in places. I had hoped this classic film would have been treated with better respect when it came time to digitize it. That having been said, four stars is a good score, and it's better to have it in digital form than not at all, even though I think I'll be hanging on to my VHS version.

If there are any youngsters (under 30) who haven't seen this film or who were very young when this came out but love their grandmother or great-grandmother, they are in for a treat. Maybe they will come to view aging people with a little more compassion if they haven't been before now. That alone could be the best thing that can come from the re-release of this wonderful film.

for more information click here